Chapter 9 – Lunch at Mamacita's
"Sawyer sure does make a good breakfast," Beau remarked as he finished another mouthful.
"That she does," Bret replied.
"Weren't you sweet on her at one time?" Beau asked.
"He was," Bart replied. "But he broke her heart and she never married."
"I did not break her heart," Bret protested. "I liked her, but that's as far as it went. Her not bein' married is her choice, not mine."
"Some redhead probably caught his eye," Bart laughed.
The three Maverick boys, no longer boys, sat in Sawyer's Café and finished their breakfast. It had been a long time since they were together like this, and they were in no hurry to rush through the meal. They chatted with some of the townsfolk who recognized Beau and shared a cup of coffee with Dave Parker, the sheriff. Finally, they could stall no more and they paid the bill and left, walking down the boardwalk to Maude's saloon. It was early and the only one there was Tommy Hatcher, who'd just taken over as head bartender. "Howdy Boss, Mr. Bret. This must be Mr. Beau. I've heard so much about you, I'm awful glad to meet you," and he stuck out his hand to shake Beau's hand. "Coffee, gentlemen? I've got a fresh pot ready for y'all and Evan and Billy should be in any minute with sweet rolls."
"Can you bring everything back to my office, Tommy?" Bart asked.
"No problem, boss. I'll be there as soon as Evan gets here with the goodies."
Evan Sunday's bakery had grown by leaps and bounds over the years, but Evan still faithfully delivered sweet rolls to the saloon every morning when she walked Billy to work. Billy Sunday remained the General Manager of Maude's, and Bart couldn't have found a better man to run the place. The three men trailed back to the office Bart kept there and found seats, then waited for Tommy to bring the coffee and sweet rolls. "The old girl sure looks good," Beau remarked.
"She's been well taken care of over the years," Bret reminded him. "Bart's always treated this place like a lover."
"You better believe it. She's been damn good to all of us over the years."
"Do you ever wish you'd stayed in Montana? The Four Mavericks was yours for the taking, you know."
Bart shook his head. "No, Beau, it was just too damn cold up there. And there were too many bad memories."
"Travis Cole's been gone for a long time, Bart."
"Is the jail still there?" Bart asked.
"You know it is."
"And the gallows?" Bart had been wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to hang; he'd watched them build the gallows from his jail cell.
"No. They tore that down a long time ago."
"Still too many bad memories."
They sat in silence for several minutes and let the mood lighten before there was a knock at the door and Tommy entered, carrying a tray loaded with coffee, cups, and sweet rolls. "Gentlemen, refreshments have arrived."
"Ah, I never could resist Evan's sweet rolls, no matter how full I was," Bart remarked laughingly as he reached for one. "Doralice tried to make them at home and couldn't quite get the hang of it."
"Yeah, you don't need any sweet rolls at home, Brother Bart."
"Neither do you, Brother Bret."
Beau just laughed at the two of them.
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"Bout time you got here," Richie chastised Bill Collins as he rode into camp later that afternoon.
"I told you I'd be late," Bill shot back at him as he climbed down off the black gelding. "I'm surprised I got here this early in the day. You got any coffee? I could sure use some."
"Yeah, we got a whole pot Jackson just made fresh. Come on and grab a cup, and I'll fill you in on the details."
Two cups of coffee later, Richie had brought Bill up to date on the plan to raid the B Bar M Ranch. "Is that all there is worth takin'?"
"That's all in the way if crossbreeds," Richie answered.
"What else is there?" Bill pushed.
"Why, what have you got in mind?"
"Who are they usin' for stud?"
Richie shook his head. "I don't know."
"Gotta be a pure-blooded Arabian, don't it?" Bill was thinking about three steps ahead of Richie.
"Yeah, but whoever it is, they've got him under lock and key."
"What about second stringers?"
Richie hadn't thought of those since there were only two other men with him at the time. Now that Bill had finally arrived, they could pick up the pure-bred quarter horses, too. That would give them another two dozen or so horses; probably another ten or twelve thousand dollars. "Sure, we can get them too, now that you're here."
"And it's just the two kids ridin' at night? None of the adults go out?"
"No, just the boy and girl. And they're always in before dark."
"Good. As soon as they're in the house, we'll start."
Now all they had to do the rest of the day was sleep. And once it got dark and the kids were inside . . .
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The four ladies sat on the porch and drank lemonade and watched the sun begin its descent in the sky; three ladies drank lemonade and the fourth her usual brandy. Supper was over and the men were at Bret's house looking at some new contraption Doralice and Pauly had just installed in Ginny's kitchen.
"What do you say we take the buggy into town tomorrow?" Doralice proposed.
"Say, that's not a bad idea. The men had their turn today," Ginny laughed.
"That would be nice," Dani agreed. "It looked like a nice place to visit."
"We can go in and have coffee at Sawyer's, then go shopping," Maude suggested.
"And have lunch at Mamacita's. We have to eat at Mamacita's, Dani. It's the best Mexican food for a hundred miles." The café was now owned by Maria Elena, Mamacita's youngest daughter, who used to be the nanny to the twins when they were little.
"And if we're not done shopping, we'll do some more after lunch."
"And before we come home we can have tea and scones at The Sunday Bakery," Ginny reminded them.
"It sounds heavenly," Dani smiled.
"I've got an idea. If we go in early enough, I can show you Maude's before the saloon is open. I bet you've never been inside a saloon, have you, Dani?" Maude had a gleam in her eye.
"No, I haven't. Oooh, that would be delightful and wicked. But we can't tell the men." Dani almost giggled.
"Honey, you're the only one that's never been inside a saloon. It's nothin' new for us," Doralice chuckled. "I was practically raised in one."
"And I'm the one that raised her," Maude added.
"And I worked undercover in a saloon in Kansas City," Ginny added.
"Oh, my," was the only thing that Dani could say.
"Look, there's Benny and Maudie. Time for us to go in. Let's get up at sunrise ad hitch up the buggy, then we'll head for Little Bend," Doralice proposed.
"Yes."
"Good."
"Okay."
"See you in the morning, ladies."
